


Awakening

by ForgottenKnight



Series: Aftermath [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood, F/M, Feelings, Kakashi is strong, OC has a cute dog, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-08 11:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21474994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForgottenKnight/pseuds/ForgottenKnight
Summary: While watching the Chunin exam, Tsuika and the rest of the arena fall asleep from a mass genjutsu. When Kakashi wakes her up, she makes a heart wrenching realization.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Original Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Aftermath [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547938
Kudos: 22





	Awakening

Even though she’d been looking forward to watching Sasuke and Gaara’s match, Tsuika’s gaze was consistently drawn away from the fight to Kakashi who was standing nearby alongside Guy, Sakura and Ino. He had arrived late with Sasuke in an impressive flurry of leaves in the center of the arena. When he’d made it up to the seating area, she smiled at him and he had raised his hand in a wave. 

Glancing around, she noticed several Anbu operatives scattered among the crowd. While it made some sense to her to have extra Shinobi forces around because of the Chunin exams, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Not long into the match, Tsuika suddenly felt a growing sense of exhaustion. She struggled to keep her eyes open, her mind foggy and her seat seeming as comfortable as any bed. 

“Ka… Kakashi…” she muttered, trying to get the ninja’s attention. Her eyes fell shut as she reached out to him, and her arm dropped limply at her side. She slumped in her seat and surrendered to the inescapable pull of sleep.

That was the last thing Tsuika remembered before waking up to Kakashi crouching in front of her with two fingers pressed to her forehead.

“Rise and shine,” he said, tilting his head at her and smiling behind his mask. He looked a little worse for wear despite his bright expression.

Tsuika blushed as she straightened in her seat. “What happened?” She looked around and saw obvious evidence of battles having been fought. There was a bloodstain on the bench right next to her and there were damaged parts of the seats, walls and railings scattered around the whole area. How had she slept through all of that? 

“A genjutsu was used on the arena that put everyone to sleep.”

“Everyone but you and the other ninjas, clearly. But why?”

Kakashi sighed and seemed to debate with himself for a moment. “It’s nothing you won’t find out sooner or later… There was an attack by ninjas from the Sand and Sound villages. Orochimaru was in charge. While he was busy fighting the Hokage, he also summoned a giant snake and had it attack the village.”

Tsuika’s stomach plummeted. “Where?”

“All over, why?”

“_ Nikko _. I left him at home!” She hurriedly stood up, images of her home crushed on top of her dog unhelpfully flooding to the forefront of her mind. She stumbled as she made her way to the stairs, her body still feeling a little sluggish from her forced nap. 

Kakashi was at her side before she could fall, his arm around her shoulders to support her. “Careful. You’re no help to him if you hurt yourself.”

“He might be _ dead _. If I trip how will that matter? You have other people to help; if I see you later I’ll let you know what I find.” Tsuika gently shrugged him off and took his hand, squeezing it in her smaller one. “Thank you for waking me and for keeping me safe. I know it’s your job, but it means a lot.” 

She noticed some color rise in his cheeks and offered him a small smile before running for the stairs. _ If that bastard’s snake hurt my dog… _ Tsuika shook her head as she scurried down the stairs, maneuvering around other villagers who were making their way to their own homes to assess the damage done. 

When she finally made it out of the arena she took off running toward her home, her heart hammering and breaths burning in her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she had run so fast, but the thought of Nikko being flattened under rubble spurred her on in the hopes of outrunning the very idea. Dust clouds hovered low in the air on nearly every road and almost every building she passed had been affected by the snake’s rampage in some form. 

Turning onto her street, Tsuika’s heart sank. The amount of damage done to this part of the village was almost enough to strip her of all hope. Even as she ran up to it she could tell there was nothing left of her house but shattered pieces of wood, tile and memories. She didn’t see or hear Nikko as she approached, and that only served to add to her worries. 

“Nikko!” Tsuika shouted, skidding to a halt where her front door used to be. “Nikko I’m here! Come on buddy where are you?” She waded into the ruins of her home being careful of where she stepped to avoid broken glass or warped pieces of metal. She strained her ears for any whine, bark, or sound of movement and looked for any patch of Nikko’s white fur. 

As she made her way toward where her bedroom would have been, she thought she heard quiet, pained whines.

“Nikko!” Tsuika hurried closer to the sound, her foot almost catching under a fallen beam. “I’ve got you, don’t worry!” She grabbed at loose pieces of wood haphazardly, ignoring the sting of splinters, and tossed them to the side. Nikko’s whines got louder as she lifted more rubble off of him, but she still couldn’t see him. As Tsuika strained to lift heavier chunks of debris, tears blurred her vision. 

After lifting a portion of what she guessed was her desk, she finally saw Nikko looking up at her with his mismatched eyes. He yelped at her and wriggled under the debris, obviously just as glad to see her as she was to see him. She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she smiled in relief at him. “Hey buddy. I’ll get you out of here.”

She wasn’t sure how she was going to do that. Having cleared away most of the debris around him, she saw that a large part of her bedroom wall had fallen on top of him and pinned him to the ground. She could only see his head and one of his front legs, the rest of him was still covered by bigger, heavier chunks of her house. Looking closer, she saw red staining his fur and her heart nearly stopped. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” she said, looking around for anyone who might be nearby who could help her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone else in sight. Tsuika groaned internally and focused on lifting whatever she could off of her dog. She was careful not to shift something the wrong way to keep anything else from falling on him and hurting him further. When she uncovered his other front leg, her hands came away bloody. She choked on a sob as she saw why: his right front leg was limp, blood stained and mangled. 

At his low whimper, Tsuika wiped her hands on her shirt and tried to smile comfortingly at him. “It’s okay. We’ll get that healed as soon as I get you out of here.” She had been dreading this part. Her arms were already tired from moving debris, and now she would have to lift a wall off of him and probably move him out of the way. 

She squatted down and made sure she got a good grip on the edge of the wall before trying to lift it. Her legs and arms strained against the weight and she felt yet another splinter of wood driving itself into her palm. Grimacing, she pushed against the wood even harder, only for it groan loudly and barely move. 

“Come on you stupid piece of wood,” Tusika growled, squeezing her eyes shut against new tears as she tried again. Pain shot through her hands and she leaned into the feeling as she pushed harder. _“_ _ Come on! ” _

The wall suddenly became lighter and it lifted completely off of Nikko. Tsuika’s eyes flew open in surprise and she looked beside her to find Kakashi holding the wall up with what appeared to be an impressive lack of effort. 

“Kakashi? I thought you were-” 

“Get him, I’ve got this,” he said nodding to Nikko. 

Tsuika nodded and let go of the wall. She carefully gathered Nikko into her arms, mindful of his leg, and carried him away from the ruins of her home. Kakashi set the wall back down and met her at the edge of the pile. 

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come by.” She hadn’t even heard him approach. “Thank you, seriously.”

“It’s no problem.” 

“I need to get him to the vet, assuming that place hasn’t been destroyed too.”

Kakashi looked sadly at Nikko’s injured leg and gently patted the shepherd's head. “I’m sorry this happened. I can tell Hana you’ll be by to see her so she can prepare.”

“You’d do that for me?”

He glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well- it’s my duty to help everyone in the village.”

Tsuika smiled gratefully at him. “I’d give you a hug for your help, but my hands are full and I should get going. Next time I see you then.”

Kakashi chuckled lightly and shifted on his feet. “Next time then. Let me know how he does.”

“Will do, and thanks again, Kakashi,” Tsuika said. Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke and she shifted Nikko a little, her tired arms shaking slightly from his weight. “Alright buddy, let’s get that leg healed.”

  
  



End file.
